'I miss him dearly' man who stabbed best friend to death tells judge

Mark Jante told a Cumberland County judge Tuesday that he never meant to stab his best friend to death during a drunken birthday celebration.

Still, President Judge Edward E. Guido sentenced the 60-year-old Jante to 10 to 20 years in state prison for the March 2017 death of Kelly Strong.

"This is a tragic situation that was brought on by voluntary intoxication," the judge said. "We do not question the sincerity of (Jante's) remorse. Nevertheless, any lesser sentence would depreciate the severity of this crime."

Guido reached that conclusion two months after Jante pleaded no contest to charges of aggravated assault and involuntary manslaughter for the slaying that occurred in a Middlesex Township home the men shared. Jante had no sentencing deal.

Chief Public Defender Michael Halkias said Jante and Strong were both heavily intoxicated that night as they marked Strong's birthday. "The circumstances around that evening are muddled at best," Halkias said. "This was not in any way intentional. No one's more broken up about this than Mark."

It appears that Jante was playing with the knife when the stabbing occurred, he said.

What is clear, District Attorney Skip Ebert said, is that Jante stabbed Strong twice. One wound was 6 1/2 inches deep, and the other penetrated 7 inches into Strong's body, the prosecutor said.

This was a domestic violence incident, the kind of crime that "is the major cause of death in this particular county," Ebert said. He urged Guido to impose the 10- to 20-year sentence.

Jante told Guido he loved Strong like a brother. He said he has accepted responsibility for the death. "It tears me up," Jante said. "I miss him dearly."

"Did you ever think about the alcohol and how that contributed to this tragedy?" Guido asked.

"Yeah," Jante replied. "I'm sure if we weren't drinking this would not have happened. It was an accident."

Jante's sister Michelle pleaded for mercy even though she conceded "Mark was stupid and irresponsible that night." Any punishment her brother receives from a court "can't be worse than what's going on inside him," she said.